Welcome to the 'New Somerset and Dorset Railway'

The original Somerset and Dorset Railway closed very controversially in 1966. It is time that decision, made in a very different world, was reversed. We now have many councillors, MPs, businesses and individuals living along the line supporting us. Even the Ministry of Transport supports our general aim. The New S&D was formed in 2009 with the aim of rebuilding as much of the route as possible, at the very least the main line from Bath (Britain's only World Heritage City) to Bournemouth (our premier seaside resort); as well as the branches to Wells, Glastonbury and Wimborne. We will achieve this through a mix of lobbying, trackbed purchase and restoration of sections of the route as they become economically viable. With Climate Change, road congestion, capacity constraints on the railways and now Peak Oil firmly on the agenda we are pushing against an open door. We already own Midford just south of Bath, and are restoring Spetisbury under license from DCC, but this is just the start. There are other established groups restoring stations and line at Midsomer Norton and Shillingstone, and the fabulous narrow gauge line near Templevcombe, the Gartell Railway.

There are now FIVE sites being actively restored on the S&D and this blog will follow what goes on at all of them!

Midford - Midsomer Norton - Gartell - Shillingstone - Spetisbury

Our Aim:

Our aim is to use a mix of lobbying, strategic track-bed purchase, fundraising and encouragement and support of groups already preserving sections of the route, as well as working with local and national government, local people, countryside groups and railway enthusiasts (of all types!) To restore sections of the route as they become viable.

Whilst the New S&D will primarily be a modern passenger and freight railway offering state of the art trains and services, we will also restore the infrastructure to the highest standards and encourage steam working and steam specials over all sections of the route, as well as work very closely with existing heritage lines established on the route.

This blog contains my personal views. Anything said here does not necessarily represent the aims or views of any of the groups currently restoring, preserving or operating trains over the Somerset and Dorset Railway!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Dave from Devizes manoeuvres his little digger gingerly along the up platform to provide a trench for electricity cabling to the signalbox. The box looked very cosy today with smoke curling from the chimney.

Further evidence of changes to the up platform in preparation for operating trains in 2008 is removal of the palings ready for shoring up the wall underneath. This will allow passenger trains to use the up platform. The track sections will be relaid soon as part of the Silver Street safety works.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Far from waiting for Peak Oil it is quite possible that it has already peaked. A German report suggests that the peak was in 2006 and that from now on oil production will fall by 7% each year. That's against expected demand growth of around 2% a year - a 9% gap. I'll leave it to you to work what this will mean for the new S&D ...

Sunday, October 21, 2007

The Matterhorn is the classic iconic image of Switzerland. The image is used not only to draw people to Switzerland, Zermatt and the Gornergrat but to sell products at just about every outlet in the country.

The S&D has an equally iconic image - Midford. Once rebuilt it is this section of the route that will give the S&D its USP and also recreate THE classic iconic image of Britain's rail network. It will draw visitors in their hundreds of thousands to the line and will provide us with an image that will burn itself into the conciousness of railway enthusiasts and tourists worldwide.

This is the house where I used to live in Switzerland. Leysin, a village of about 4000 people, has four operating stations. Midsomer Norton/Radstock, with a population of 30000+ currently has none, although it too once had four.

This is the Gornergratbahn which carries passengers and freight from Zermatt at 5000 feet asl to the Gornergrat at 10000 feet asl. It's rack operated throughout and metre gauge. For almost the whole journey the Matterhorn dominates.

As well as a superb state railway system Switzerland also has many private lines (mainly metre gauge) and tramways in the larger cities. This is a tram in Geneva running on a new line opened a few years ago - public transport is clean, efficient, cheap and intensive. What Switzerland has today hopefully the UK will have in twenty years time! It would be impossible for towns the size of Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Wincanton, Blandford, Wells, Shepton, Glastonbury and Sturminster Newton not to have a regular and intensive train service in Switzerland.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

All the hyperactivity on the blog this evening is because we're off to Switzerland tomorrow for five days, staying in Leysin and Geneva. Planned highlight is a trip on the Gornergratbahn up to the Matterhorn.

Unusually for a Saturday, yesterday saw a genuine traffic movement on the S&D as number 10 shunts the mark one coach into the up platform ready for today's board meeting.

All in all yesterday was a very busy day for the S&D with the AGM, the Railway Ramblers' trip to Midsomer Norton and the Midsomer Norton Model Railway Show, where we had a trade stand. Now to count the cash!

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Two shots of the catering coach from the patio side - looking resplendent in Southern region green. Lining and lettering to follow! The coach is open this Saturday for a Railway Ramblers' buffet, AGM visitors and the usual passing trade.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Debs has found an excellent new site that not only calculates your carbon emissions but allows you to choose how they can be offset - and where. So you can use it to plant woodlands in Cornwall, provide simple ovens in Africa or even cancel carbon credits to prevent industries getting their hands on them. This is a great idea and one we'll be using regularly. You can even pay by Paypal! Hopefully in the future this will be another incoming cash flow for community railways that utilise sustainable energy, particularly when carbon-charging becomes part of the tax system rather than voluntary as it is now.

Friday, October 05, 2007

So the government are planning to waste £16 billion on yet another cross London railway, which will do little more than connect east and west of a city already teeming with public transport options, a city that will probably be uninhabitable within 50 years.

Just imagine what that £16 billion could do in the real world. Restore the S&D for a start, rebuild the whole Waverley route, not just a little stub at the northern end, restore the whole Great Central, Bere Alston to Okehampton, branches to Bude, Padstow, Lyme Regis, Devizes, Midhurst, Gosport, Ringwood, Wimborne and a dozen other places stupidly currently off the rail map, and probably leave about £5 billion for tram systems in about 20 towns and cities!

At the very least the government should grant automatic planning permission for all rail reinstatements coupled with compulsory purchase powers for any land needed for new railways.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Two shots of the protective works at the Silver Street end of the station. The sleeper barrier is now finished.

A couple of track panels have been removed to allow the sliding buffers to be constructed.

This is the stretch of road that needs to be protected from runaways. This will hopefully be a short-term measure - bridge replacement and the extension back to Radstock are now beginning to appear on the agenda!

Our website

JOIN THE NEW S&D!!

Joining the New S&D is easy - simply click on the Paypal button below for ordinary (£15), junior (£7) or LIFE (£250) membership. Membership gives you the right (with full insurance cover) to work at either of our sites at Midford and Spetisbury, 2 magazines per year and 10% discount on items from our online sales site and, in the future, reduced fares on trains!

WANTED FOR THE NEW S&D!

As we move from the early stages to a more mature state we need a number of key people to help us spread the word about the New S&D and rail resurgence in general. Ideally we'd love to have the following people -

SALES OFFICER - to develop mail order and internet sales, also attend events up and down the route to promote the line. At a later stage will be fully responsible for building shop stock at Midford and Spetisbury.

PROMOTIONS OFFICER - to promote the line via meetings etc. Would also liaise with local and regional government, working as a lobbyist for the New S&D. Would work closely with the PRESS OFFICER.

TREASURER - to take care of the accounts, make payments etc, and advise on financial matters.

HERITAGE OFFICER - to promote and care for all the heritage aspects of the line.

If you are interested in any of the above posts please email me at leysiner@aol.com

Ideally the sales officer position needs to be held by somebody local to the line - would happily split this role Dorset/Somerset if it makes it more manageable! Ideally the Promotions Officer would also live locally to the line. The other posts can be distant from the line.

OUR NEXT MEETING -

will be our AGM, spring 2015 location to be decided, but will be in the Bath area.

New S&D Logo

and website link!

SPETISBURY

We are now actively restoring the site at SPETISBURY, in Dorset. If you are interested in getting involved down there please contact our Spetisbury Project Manager by email on deancockwell@ntlworld.com
Alternatively please phone me (Steve Sainsbury) on 0117 3738973

MIDFORD FACEBOOK - NEW SOMERSET AND DORSET RAILWAY The New S&D will be holding a meeting on Saturday 21st May from 2pm to 4...

bring it back

WORKING AT MIDFORD - IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Volunteers are welcome to go up to Midford at any time to do restoration work - but please bear the following in mind!Please under no circumstances park in the Hope and Anchor car park at any time, even when the pub is not open. There is plenty of car parking on Twinhoe Lane, by the gate that gives access to the cycleway. From there it is a very pleasant walk to the station over the viaduct! Please carry tools etc by hand.Please email or phone me first just so I know there is somebody there and to give you an idea of what work needs to be done.Within a few weeks we will have New S&D reflective jackets available. Please wear these whenever possible.You are an ambassador for the line. Please talk to anyone who is interested in the line and if you have them please hand out leaflets. Be friendly and professional at all times!Please keep the cycleway clear of tools etc at all times.Please take ALL litter etc home, including cigarette ends.

Please respect all the wildlife in the area, always check if clearing that you are not destroying a nest etc. If in doubt please leave well alone.Please use the Hope and Anchor pub for drinks and food.We do not currently have insurance for volunteers. You are working at your own risk, personal injury insurance is recommended.Please take care at all times and think of others, volunteers and members of the public.

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WANTED!

Volunteers to join the regular working parties restoring MIDFORD station.

You need to be a New S&D member (you can sign up on the day). Bring tools etc!

the rail thing

Come with us on a journey through time and space ...
the rail thing can throw up ANYTHING rail-related, from BR in the 70s to Swiss trams, Czech funiculars to British classic miniature railways ...the rail thing

New S&D on Facebook

Midford Station Appeal

The first aim of the New S&D will be to secure the station site at Midford and rebuild the station as a visitor information centre. This will only be the very first small step to restoring the route, but possibly the most important. As Paypal charges can be high it is better to make larger donations (£20+) by cheque wherever possible, but please feel free to use this facility for any amounts if easier! Cheques should be made payable to 'New Somerset and Dorset Railway' and sent to New S&D, Midford Station Appeal, 10 Bellamy Avenue, Hartcliffe, BRISTOL, BS13 0HW. We may be introducing a share scheme for the station so a record will be made of all donations and if a share scheme is agreed then all moneys will be allocated to doners and shares issued to the full value of donations made.

MIDFORD STATION APPEAL

Join and support the New S&D

Basic membership is just £15 per year. This entitles you to participate in all New S&D activities, receive regular news and info (by email and/or post), vote at meetings, receive 10% reduction on sales items and, if you wish, contribute directly to the blog.

enhanced options

YOU CAN OF COURSE ALSO PAY BY CHEQUE! Please make cheques payable to 'New Somerset and Dorset Railway' and send to New S&D, 10 Bellamy Avenue, Hartcliffe, BRISTOL, BS13 0HW

Donations to the New S&D

You can now donate specifically for those aspects of the New S&D that you personally have the most interest in.
New S&D Steam Centre
Plan is to create a base on the route (Templecombe or Evercreech are suggested) where steam locomotives can be shedded and serviced and run services over the route. These will be additional to the 'real' passenger and freight scheduled services.

You can donate any amount by clicking the Paypal button below.

STEAM CENTRE.

If your main interest is in purchasing and securing land and buildings then you can donate any amount specifically for this purpose by clicking on the Paypal button below.

LAND PURCHASE.

If you would like to donate towards lobbying local, regional and national government in addition to helping maintain a high media profile then you can donate any amount by clicking the Paypal button below.
LOBBYING AND MEDIA.

You can of course make specific donations by cheque through the post. Please state what the donation is for, or whether it is a general donation, and send to -

What group does what on the S&D?

The S&D was a large network, over 100 miles in all, and was the most popular line in the UK, if not the world.

For this reason there are a variety of groups restoring and preserving the S&D.

They are -

The New Somerset and Dorset Railway - a land purchasing and lobbying group determined to reopen the whole S&D as a response to Peak Oil and Climate Change, blending sustainable modern and heritage transport. Direct email contact. They also manage the growing Somerset and Dorset Railway ecommerce site here. They own and are currently restoring Midford station and will shortly do the same at Spetisbury, for rebuilding as information offices for the whole route. Facebook.

Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust - restoring Midsomer Norton station with plans to extend to Radstock and towards Shepton Mallet. In summer regular passnger trains are operated at this iconic S&D location. The station and area have been restored to their full pre-closure glory. There is also a museum on site.

Sturminster Rail Group - aim is to purchase strategic sections of the route particularly between Sturminster Newton and Henstridge to allow the running of trains in the future.

North Dorset Railway Trust - based at Shillingstone in Dorset has restored the iconic station at Shillingstone and is also in the process of laying track for up to a mile. They have a diesel loco on site and will shortly be taking delivery of steam loco 'Cunarder'. Facebook.

Gartell Light Railway - a two foot gauge private railway operating on part of the S&D near Templecombe, currently extending northwards. Operates about once a month.

There is also a private restoration project at Masbury station but PLEASE do not trespass on the site!

The S&D Stamp Appeal

Turning stamps into track!

Remember you can help raise money for the New Somerset and Dorset Railway or the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust (Midsomer Norton) by sending used stamps to us. These are quickly turned into cash which will help us set the organisation up or continue the work at Midsomer Norton.

ALL stamps are required, even the regular 1st and 2nd class small ones. Ideally they should be trimmed to within about 1/4" of the perforations, on just the front part of the envelope.

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Copyright

We do occasionally use images and text from other people. Wherever possible we do contact the creators to clear use, but it is sometimes hard to trace the original copyright, for example if we use an uncredited image from a third party website. Please be assured that all text and images are for strictly non-commercial use. If you are a copyright holder and we have used your text or images please contact us and we will endeavour to either remove the text/images or come to an agreement for their use. We all have the interest of the S&D at heart.